Come Dancing (Punters)

They put a parking lot on a piece of land,
Where the supermarket used to stand;
Before that they put up a bowling alley,
On the site that used to be the local Palais,
Where the big bands used to come and play,
My sister went there on a Saturday.

Another Saturday, another date,
She would be ready but she'd
always make them wait;
In the hallway in anticipation,
He didn't know the night
would end up in frustration;
He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week,
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek.

Come dancing,
That's how they did it when I was just a kid;
When they said come dancing,
My sister always did.

My sister should have come in at midnight,
And my mom would always sit up and wait;
It always ended up in a big row,
When my sister used to get home late.

[spoken] And out of my window,
I could see them in the moonlight:
Two silhouettes,
Saying goodnight by the garden gate.

The day they knocked down the Palais,
My sister stood and cried;
The day they knocked down the Palais,
Part of my childhood died.

Now I'm grown up and playing in a band,
They're parking cars where the Palais used to stand;
My sister's married and she lives on an estate,
The girls go out, another date, her turn to wait;
She gets together with the things she never could,
But if I asked her I wonder if she would....

Originally recorded by The Kinks (State Of Confusion, trk#4, 1983, Arista Records, produced by Ray Davies and recorded at Konk Studios, London, England)

From Wikipedia:This 1982 song was The Kinks' last major hit single, incorporating nostalgic music hall and big band styles. It reached number six in the United States and number 12 in the United Kingdom. ASCAP presented The Kinks with an award for "One Of The Most Played Songs Of 1983" for the hit single.

This variant was recorded by the Punters (Will You Wait, trk#7, 2000, Loggerhead Records, Toronto, Ontario, produced by Gary Moffet and Jeff Nystrom).